Newspaper inserters are well known in the art. Typically, a newspaper inserter feeds inserts, such as sheets or folded advertisements, into a pocket containing a newspaper jacket. A newspaper jacket is a folded section or sections of a newspaper into which the inserts are fed. Exemplary newspaper inserters are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,907,316, 6,674,073, 6,082,724, 5,911,416, and 4,477,067, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The newspaper, with its inserts, can then be removed from the pocket by a gripper conveyor and then dropped in a shingled configuration on a lapped stream conveyor.
Conventional newspaper jackets have a symmetrical fold, meaning that the newspaper is folded substantially in half so that the difference between the two sides is generally less than 5%. This difference, often called the lap, is used to open the newspaper jacket so that inserts are fed into the open fold. Conventionally, the longer side of the jacket is held against one wall of the pocket by a clamp, as illustrated, for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,477,067.
US 2009/0282998A1, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, describes a printing press and folder which produces a newspaper with an asymmetrical fold. As example, a newspaper having a length of 14.67 inches may be folded to have a 10.5 inch side and a 4.17 inch side. With this type of format, however, inserts fed into the open fold are less secure and more prone to falling out of the newspaper during processing in the plant and subsequent delivery to customers than a conventional symmetrically folded newspaper.